Right Here
by PunkMermaid
Summary: Andrea Calhoun fell in love with Kate Shepard in high school. Throughout their lives their paths intertwine, blurring the lines between friends and lovers. Some love stories are meant to be, no matter the obsticles.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Dogs of War is a fun WIP but it is so damn angsty. This is an old project I dug out of a folder that's a bit lighter. Basically, I wanted to explore what would happen if Shepard chose to have a civilian partner instead of someone else in the military. _

**May, 2172 **

**Effingham, Illinois **

**Big Moon Motel**

The Big Moon motel was a shithole, but it was one place in town where two kids could rent a room for a night of privacy. The carpet was a garish orange and the television was ancient and occaisionally sent up an alarming spark in the air as it played ancient dramas on repeat.

Kate Shepard and Andrea Calhoun had long since discarded their prom dresses and now they were nothing more than puddles of blue and silver silk strewn across the carpeting. The two girls sprawled lazily in bed, passing a bottle of wine back and forth. Andrea took a last long drag on her ciggerette before tossing it into an ash tray by the bed. Kate watched with a curl of her lips. She despised smoking, but tolerated it from Andrea.

"Prom sucked," Kate declared as she turned back to the tv and took a swig of wine, "this tastes like piss," she declared, wrinkling her face.

Andrea Calhoun took a long swig from the glass bottle, "a-fucking-men to both." She leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend lazily.

Kate pulled away after a long moment, smiling, "wanna order take out?"

"Maybe later," Andrea shrugged, "for now I want to get trashed and try to wipe the image of our illustrious classmates grinding pelvises out of my head."

"I'll drink to that," Kate snatched the wine bottle again. "Will your mom miss you?" She asked after minute.

Andrea made a face, "mom's working the graveyard shift tonight, she won't be home till seven tomorrow. You?"

"My foster family?" Kate snorted, "they don't give a shit. Two months and I'm out on my ass anyways."

Andrea took one last swig, surveyed the empty wine bottle with regret, and set it on the nightstand. She leaned against Kate's shoulder. "That's right. you got college plans yet?"

"I uh-," Kate put an arm around the other woman, "don't think I'm gonna go. The 'rents didn't leave me much money."

The two girls fell silent. They didn't talk about Kate's family much. She arrived two years ago, still reeling from the colony attack that had killed her family. Kate had gotten detention her first day at school for a xenophobic comment she had made. Personally, Andrea had a hard time blaming her. Kate had watched everyone she ever knew die. She'd have a hard time accepting other species if her primary exposure had been at the wrong end of a gun.

Andrea had been in detention the same day for a rather public display of artistic expression. Her graffiti on the side of the school had not gone over as well as she had hoped. It was _supposed _to be a statement on the administrative attitude towards political speech on school grounds. No one understood artists these days.

She had been bored sitting in the quiet classroom with nothing to do and Kate had been so cute sitting there, arms crossed, slouched and scowling. Andrea had drawn a cartoon of the teacher, a woman with a ridiculous curly hairdo, as a poodle and passed it to her. She had watched as the corner of Kate's mouth quirked up into the smallest of smiles.

After detention they had walked down to the bodega and used Andrea's fake ID to buy a six pack. Together they had spent the evening by the river drinking and talking until the sun went down. Kate told her about life on a colony before the raid and how loud and bright even their small town was in comparison to the vast emptiness of a nearly uninhabited planet.

They had been together ever since.

Andrea, the artist who hated rules and authority and Kate, the rebel with a blood in her past.

Since then, Kate had told her a little about the attack on Mindoir. They came at night. They killed her whole family. She hid in a closet and watched, terrified to move a muscle. Then she had made a run for it, sneaking past Batarians with assault rifles massacring everyone she had ever loved and stepping over dead bodies.

In a few hours her whole life had gone wrong. Now there wasn't even enough money for her school. Andrea was never sure what to say. She scooted closer, felt Andrea's fingers dig into her bicep.

"What about you? What are you doing after we're done with high school?" Kate asked.

"Scholarship to art school." Andrea cuddled closer, "you should come with me, you can be my muse."

"God knows I was over half your portfolio."

"Yeah, well, when I'm rich and famous you can say you're the first nude Andrea Calhoun ever drew." Andrea smiled, the image of Kate draped across a sofa smiling softly at her was a fondly held memory.

Kate grinned at her,"And I'll still be the prettiest."

"I'd drink to it, but we're out of wine."

Kate chewed on her lip, "I've been meaning to talk to you about something." She brushed a strand of copper hair out of her face, "I talked to a recruitment officer the other day. For the alliance."

"Seriously?" Andrea sat straight up from where she had courted against Kate, wrinkling her nose, "You going to go all Starship Trooper on me now?"

"I haven't signed anything yet."

Andrea touched her girlfriend's cheek, turning her head so they were meeting eyes, "but you're going to," she stated simply.

Kate shrugged, "the alliance saved my life."

"So?" Andrea mimiced the shrug, "it's their job, not like you owe them or something."

"No, it's not like that," Kate said, drawing her knees up to her chest, "but they said maybe I could help, like, stop more colony attacks."

Andrea raised an eyebrow, "And you want revenge on the bastards who killed your family."

"You weren't there Andrea, they died and I had to watch and... I still-" she looked away, "fuck, it's not important."

"we've been sleeping together for nearly a year, Kate." Andrea touched her shoulder," I know you still have nightmares."

A long silence stretched between them. Kate stared at the curtained covered window and Andrea watched her cautiously. She was never quite sure how to talk about Mindoir. Kate always went stoic and silent.

"Do you know where they found me?" Kate asked softly. "I had to hide. They dumped all the bodies in a pit and when the alliance finally..." She swallowed, "they found me hiding there."

"Kate..." Andrea touched her hand and Kate gripped it hard enough to hurt.

"I didn't even get one of them. I didn't take down a single one. Most of them got away from the alliance, even. It shouldn't happen to anyone else. It _shouldn't."_

Trying to lighten the mood, Andrea spoke first, "don't you have to run, and get up early, and be all neat freaky and stuff?" She curled her lip in distaste.

Kate chuckled, "not all of us have an allergic reaction to a clothes hampers, Andrea."

"Yeah," Andrea said, "but I'll miss you," she lifted Kates hand's and kissed the back of it. Kate's hands were dusted with freckles like constellations. "I mean, when will you be home?"

"Basic is, like, three months or something," Kate said, "as long as I do everything right."

"You will," Andrea said, "when have you ever lost anything you really wanted to win." She remembered Kate in gym class head butting a soccer ball into the head of the guy known for being a bully, or Kate running track on the hottest day of summer, outstripping everyone in their class.

"And then?"

"They'll send me where they need me."

"What if-" Andrea hesitated, "what if they send you somewhere and you don't come home."

For a moment Kate stared at the wall. She didn't speak for a long time, "at least no one will miss me." Kate shrugged. She reached for the wine bottle, then seemed to remember it was empty.

"How can you say that? I'll miss you," Andrea nuzzled Kate's hair, "and what about us?"

"Us," Kate sighed, "you're going to art school. You'll meet some equally messy, artistic girl, and fall madly in love, and forget about me."

"And you'll meet some hot asari girl and forget about me. You'll probably live on Alpha Centauri or whatever their home planet is."

"Your such a nerd," Kate said and chuckled, "I hear their boobs get bigger with age."

"Is that the real reason you're going into space," Andrea rolled her eyes.

"Yup," Kate grinned, "that's me, roaming the galaxy in search of large chested, blue women." Laying down on the bed she sighed in contentment, "but for the record, Andrea, I like your boobs."

"Thanks," Andrea smiled and laid her head on Kate's shoulder, "I like your boobs to."

They lay there embracing each other a long time. "Can we just pretend this will work?" Kate asked suddenly, "just for tonight? I need..I need someone will be here."

Andrea kissed her, "then hold onto me. I'll be right here."


	2. Chapter 2

2177

Chicago, Illinois

"What?" Andrea said into the phone. The man on the other end started to say something.

"This is Captain And-"

"No!" Andrea said, seeing something out of the corner of her eye, "No, Sean, wait that's not the right spot!"

Sean looked up guiltily, form where he had been about to hang a large painting. "Left side," Andrea said. This show had to be perfect. She needed this success. The show opened in two and she needed someone to notice her. She had two days to get it together and then... show time. This was her Senior project, her final chance to prove herself before graduation. Two years of holding down two jobs and passing all her classes with high marks and too many sleepless nights to count. Her family didn't have the money for this kind of school and there wasn't any room for less than perfection.

Sean glanced at her, annoyed. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," she said, "but really. Left."

"Excuse me?" Said the man in the phone.

"Not you. Sorry."

Sean rolled his eyes, but moved the painting. She flashed him a thumbs up..

She put the phone to her ear, "ok, your turn. Go." She strode towards the entrance of the gallery.

"This is Captain David Anderson, Alliance Navy. I'm contacting you on behalf of one of our marines. Katherine Shepard."

Andrea froze, "I- what?"

"Hey Andrea?" Tina touched her shoulder, "did you want the blue or purple low lights to go-"

Andrea held up a hand, "shhhh."

"Should I call back?" The man on the phone said.

She made a noise of frustration, "No. not you. Someone else." She held up a finger at Tina mouthing for her to wait. She hesitated, "I haven't talked to Kate in years. She... she said she was shipping out and she- whatever, it doesn't matter- Is she okay?"

There was a note of exasperation in the man's voice, "she has you listed as her emergency contact. I'm calling you personally because something happened. Have you turned on the news?"

Andrea sank back against a wall, until she was cross legged on the ground, "sitting. What? No. What's wrong?"

There was a long pause, "Miss Calhoun, are you aware that the colony Elysium has been under attack for three days."

Andrea blinked, "Oh, yeah!" She shook her head, "sorry, it's been an insane few days. I saw on the news this morning. but... what does that have to do with anything?" She was absolutely positive she had heard something, but with the show and graduation there hadn't been a lot of time to really focus. It had been all over the news, but Elysium was a world away and her job at the coffee shop, and her classes were all right here.

A long, long pause. "Lt Shepard was on shore duty when the attack occurred. Batarian slavers and pirates, broke through the colony defenses. She's a hero, ma'am. Without her a lot of people would have died."

Andrea blinked. For a moment she was sixteen, curled under a scratchy hotel blanket with Kate Shepard feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

I didn't even get one of them, Kate had said, her hands curling into fists and clenching until the knuckles were white as milk.

"Is she alive?" Andrea asked. "Is she-"

"She made it," Anderson said quickly, "she's injured, but she's okay. A little scratched up. She hasn't slept in more than half a week. She's in the hospital on Elysium in surgery-"

"Surgery?" Andrea swallowed, "What for?"

"We can talk more when you get here."

"Get there?" She repeated robotically. "No, no, no," she said, "I have a senior project to present, graduation a-"

"Ma'am," Anderson said, "if someone needs to write a note to your school I can do it. She's going to need a friendly face when she wakes up.

Andrea blinked, pursed her lips, "Ok." She said then, "No wait, I don't have any money. There's like, approximately three credits in my account. I can't-"

"Send me coordinates. There will be a car there within the hour. The Alliance can cover this."

Andrea had spent the next half hour frantically calling her professors. She had a bad habit, she knew, when she was involved with something- like her senior project, she supposed- she tended to barricade herself in. She ignored the outside world and she worked on whatever it was needed doing. She had lost herself in this last Senior project and it was showing. Her professors, when the situation had been explained, excused her, without a single exception. Her boss rearranged shifts. It was over in minutes, she was ready to leave.

As soon as she hung up from the last call there was an Alliance driver waiting outside for her.

Andrea got in the vehicle. It had a very spy movie feel to it. Ultra tinted windows, black, leather seats. She glanced at the driver, a young man in dress blues. "Hey, I have no clothes for this trip and I haven't showered since morning yesterday. Can we stop at my flat?"

"Captain Anderson mentioned you might need that. We have about an hour before I have to get you to the airport." He was young and clean shaven and smelled like soap and too much cologne.

Andrea gave him the address and sat back in the seat crossing her arms as the city passed them by. She hadn't been in contact with Kate since... God... since sophomore year. They had kept at it long distance all through Freshman year, but there had been so many cute girls and so many cute boys. Plus, Kate was living in a different world. The art world and the military world were oil and water, it turned out.

Kate's world had been full of guns and armor. It had involved violence and gore beyond what Andrea could comprehend. She had come to visit at the end of Freshman year and she had spent three agonizing hours at a bar listening to Shepard and another combat vet they had run into compare models of sniper rifle. Meanwhile the cute bartender named Jake had served her jello-shots.

After Kate had gone back to Arcturus Station she had gone back to the bar with the cute bartender and well... she had broken up with Kate before anything happened. Their had been a mutuality to it. Kate didn't get the art world into which Andrea was immersing herself. She had been restless and half asleep in turns during the play they had gone too. Agreeing they had grown apart, they kept in contact afterwards. Even now, every few months they'd exchange messages. The bartender, on the other hand, was long gone.

Her phone rang and she checked the caller ID and groaned.

Maria. Oh Fuck. They had scheduled a date tonight. She had promised on a stack of Bible she wouldn't forget and here she was, forgetting. Wonderful. She picked up the phone.

"Hey you," Maria said, a smile in her voice. "We still on tonight?"

They weren't a thing yet, not exactly. There had been a date. A good one. A kiss or two, nothing more. Andrea had hoped there would be more, but skipping a second date was generally not a great way to further a relationship.

"Hey..." she said, "look, there's a thing. I need to tell you something." She explained as best she could.

"So," Maria said when she had finished, "go. Let me know when you come back."

Andrea breathed a sigh of relief, "thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Don't be a stranger. Message me on Elysium. Ok?"

"Ok, ok. Just.. Maria stop by the gallery and make sure they don't screw it all up, ok?"

"You're a control freak. Fine."

"Thanks! Kisses! Bye!" She made a smooching noise and hung up the phone. More proof that Maria was the kind of person she was looking for. Dating was fun. She liked dating. She hated anything that smelled like commitment. Besides, today Chicago, tomorrow New York, and who knew after that. Maybe she'd eve get a chance to head for the Citadel.

She hung up the phone and glanced out the window. "Sooooo..." she said, "now that I've sat here a minute I realize I've gotten in the car with a stranger, albeit a very good smelling stranger in a uniform, but my mother might be a bit upset with me if I didn't ask- where exactly are you taking me?"

The man spoke through a smile, "Captain Anderson has arranged your transport through the Alliance shuttle port a few hours away. I believe he intends to meet you upon arrival. Travel's been restricted except for essential personnel"

"Great," she said, "Great. I'm essential personnel on a colony that was just attacked, by what? About a bazillion space pirates."

"Something like that," the man chuckled. He pulled along a curb, another man in a uniform was waiting nearby when she stepped outside. Before she knew it she had tickets in hand and was being escorted to the soonest shuttle leaving for Elysium.

She realized quickly that she had been stuck on a flight with other friends and family members all headed to Elysium to see personnel who had been stationed there. It was, she realized, a lot of military wives. Theoretically, it seemed that there would be military husbands too, but the flight seemed to be lacking those. Some of the women were red eyed, more than one was crying. How many people had died in this attack? Suddenly, Andrea felt embarrassed she hadn't paid more attention to galactic events.

"Did your husband fight in the Blitz too?"

She was jerked out of her contemplation by her seatmate's voice. The woman was pleasantly plump, but still pretty. On her lap, a baby slept soundly.

"No, not my husband." She said.

The woman hesitated, "wife?"

"Not that either. Just a... friend." Andrea shrugged, "they said she's been hospitalized. They won't tell me anything else."

The woman looked troubled, "they won't tell me anything about Danny. They just said we needed to come. Do you think there's something wrong? Do you think he's ok?"

Andrea shrugged, 'I don't know anything about this. I uh... I'm kind of new to all this."

"Me too," the woman said, "I met Danny a year ago. We got married at the end of his shore duty because of the baby. I haven't seen him in six month, it was supposed to be a port call. I was going to fly out and meet him, but then-" The woman stopped herself and swallowed hard, "I'm sure he's fine. I'm sure everything is fine." She smiled, "Was your friend on the Agincourt too?"

Andi shifted, "I uh- I don't know."

Andrea felt another stab of guilt. She should have kept in better contact with Kate. Maybe then she'd at least know where she was stationed.

As soon as the woman next to her was distracted by her baby waking up she cued up the Alliance News Network and scanned the headlines. All of them were based around Elysium

Skyllian Blitz funded by private Batarian corps

Hero of the Blitz Hospitalized

Footage From Blitz

She selected the third one. Skimming past the associated article she found the video and clicked play.

The footage was in a pre-fab. It seemed as if it were shaking, and in the background there was the sound of gunfire. The face of the film maker came into focus first. A scared looking girl, her face dirty and her breath coming fast.

They are right outside. There's a firefight going on less than a block away. We made barricades like she said but-

The door burst open and an alliance soldier entered. Another man was slung over the shoulder of the figure. A woman, Andrea realized as she dropped the other soldier with a huff. The man moaned, blood already pooling beneath him.

"You," said the woman, "medigel. Help him."

The camera shook as the girl ran to comply. In the background the woman was saying something,

"-ard, hold that barricade at any cost. Anyone heard from Hammer squad?"

In the background there was suddenly a roar, followed by cheers. The camera was poised over the wounded man now, struggling with his armor. At the noise, the woman looked up. She cursed. The camera focused on her again.

"That came from the square." She said. She took off her visor and Andrea gasped. She knew those eyes. The woman was coated in dura-crete dust, mud and blood. Her hair was so caked with dust, it looked almost like a statue. But her eyes were bright green and the single band of skin was covered in freckles.

It was Kate. Andrea was sure of it.

"Tank squad, hold position. Hammer is down. They're going to swarm the square. I'm going to hold them off." A pause, then Kate said. "Negative. Hold your damn position! Do not let them take that barricade!"

The camera had stoped moving. The girl filming was whispering. "We're gonna die. We're gonna die We're-"

Kate knelt, again across from the woman, "listen to me. I haven't got time to argue. Get this guy on his feet. You are not going to die. hear me?"

The girl nodded.

"Then turn the damn camera off and help him."

Kate stood and ran back out the door. the camera cut off.

Andrea cut the Omni-tool blinked. Then she buried her face in her hands. The woman beside her glanced over, "Oh honey," she said, "it's best not to watch those videos." The woman rubbed her shoulders with one hand while still holding her baby with the other.

"I couldn't stand seeing my Danny like that," she said, "they're... they're different when they're in battle like that."

Andrea nodded. But it wasn't seeing Kate like that, Kate had always been in the midst of a battle. A part of her had never really left Mindoir. She had hidden beneath the bodies of her friends and families. Andrea remembered a girl who had cried in her sleep and wouldn't let anyone touch or comfort her when she jolted awake, a scream on her lips. She had wanted... no she had needed to fight. What had she thought when she was given the chance to strike back.

She sat up, "I'm fine. Really, I'm fine," she brushed away the woman's hand.

For the rest of the flight she listened to the woman talk, interjecting a question now and then to keep the conversation going. She tried not to think about Kate fighting alone surrounded by her enemies and horribly outnumbered.

When the shuttle landed she bid her seat mate farewell and waved awkwardly to another alliance guy holding a sign with her name.

"Are you," she hesitated. What was she supposed to call this Guy? David? Captain? Cap?

"Private McPherson," he said, sensing her uncertainty, "Captain Anderson is expecting you. Lt Shepard just got out of surgery. I believe he is checking her status."

She just nodded mutely and got in the back of his car. For a moment she felt paranoid about her appearance. Since the last time she had seen Kate she had trimmed her black hair into shoulder length cut, that was now tossed into a sloppy ponytail. Her eyeliner and mascara were smudged from the travel she was sure, and when she took a covert sniff, she could tell she smelled.

She took a deep breath. And Kate was going to be in a hospital gown. None of this mattered. What mattered was the city already undergoing repairs outside. What mattered was Kate. What mattered were the people huddled beneath shelters of tarp in the steadily drizzling rain of Elysium.

"Rain's keeping the concrete dust out of the air," the driver said, "it's good."

Andrea nodded, making a sound of agreement. "Were you here for-"

"I was part of reinforcements." He paused, "you're here for Shepard, right?"

"She's was- I mean, she is my friend."

The driver looked at her in the rear view, "I knew her in boot. Haven't seen her since, but ma'am, you need to know, she held the plaza for twelve straight hours on her own. Without her this whole place would have been slaughtered."

Andrea nodded, remembering the footage. She searched for something to say, "I can picture her being the hero." She said finally, "I just want her to be alive. No one's told me anything."

They pulled into the hospital, "Then it's a good thing the Captain's waiting for you," McPherson said. "This is your stop. That's your guy."

He indicated a man by the door. He could have been a football player his shoulders were so broad. He stood head and shoulder above Andrea, though at 5'2" in heels, that wasn't saying much. Kate was tall too, it was part of what had attracted her all those years ago. He carried himself with an aura of power and there was a mess of ribbons and medals pinned to his chest.

"Miss Calhoun?" He asked.

Andrea craned her neck up and offered him a small smile, "that's me. How is she?"

"Still sedated, but the doc's said she's been in and out of consciousness. She was exhausted, dehydrated and wounded when we reached her."

"Wounded?"

"She took the high ground, hacked some colony defenses, and held with a sniper rifle for as long as she could. She took a couple of hits, but she's going to be just fine."

"Okay," Andrea said, she stopped, "As long as she could? What does that mean?"

The Captain sighed, "she was wounded, probably exhausted... we think she rigged an explosion to block access to the plaza. She got caught in the blast."

"What?" Andrea stopped moving.

"Miss Calhoun," the military man stopped and turned, putting a hand on your shoulder, "What she did is one of the bravest damn things I've ever seen. She's going to be fine. Shepard's gonna fight another day."

Andrea took a long breath, "okay. Take me to her."

Anderson stopped at the door of the room, "I'll let you go in alone. I'll be back later tonight to check in."Andrea nodded and stopped outside the door. She took a long breath and stepped over the threshold.

Kate slept inside. They must have cleaned her, she wasn't coated in dirt and dust and god knows what else anymore. Her hair was just as red as she remembered. It hung down around her shoulders; she still had the same pesky clump that hung down the middle of her forehead. Same freckles. Same furrow between her eyebrows. There were new lines around her eyes. Eye. The left side of her face was bandaged from forehead to jaw. There was a cast on her right arm and burns all down her left shoulder. Someone had pulled a blanket to just below her shoulders. Her hands folded on her stomach. There was an IV dripping in fluids and a heart monitor steadily beeping by the bed.

Andrea felt as if someone had forced the breath out of her body. In just a few strides she was across the room. She put a hand to Kate's cheek. "Hey you," she whispered. "It's me. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Pulling over a chair she sat down and intertwined on off her hands with Kates. It still fit. It still fit better than she ever would have thought. She leaned her head back and dozed.

It was Kate's groan that woke her. Then, suddenly, Kate jerked, breath unsteady. "Hey," Andrea said, "hey, it's ok." Kate opened her good eye, blinking hard. Andrea reached out carefully and put a hand back on forehead, stroking back the errant shock of hair, "it's ok. You're safe now. Everyone's safe."

Kate focused on her, and squinted. "Andrea?" She asked. Her voice was hoarse and she stopped, coughing. Andrea reached for a water cup with a straw on the bed try nearby and held the straw to her lips. "Slow," she urged as Kate drank.

Kate spat out the straw and looked at her, "what are you doing here?"

"Typical Shepard hospitality, huh?" She offered Kate a shaker grin, "did you learn that on Mindoir, or is that a fun new character trait from the Alliance?"

"You know me. Overflowing with tact and curtesy." The corner of Kate's mouth tipped up.

"The big guy with all the medals called me. Said you never changed your emergency contacts out."

Kate let out a breath of pain as she adjusted herself on the bed, "sorry about that."

Andrea reached out and grabbed the small controller and pressed the button to call the doctor. Kate glanced at it, "I'm fine. Don't-..."

A woman in scrubs walked in. Andrea let the woman fuss over Kate for a few minutes. When she came back in Kate was propped up, face turned towards the window. "How are they out there?" She asked without turning.

"They've got quite the rebuilding project on their hands. But they're alive." Andrea walked over to the bed again, "I hear you're responsible. That big guy with the medals called you a hero."

"Big guy?" Kate thought a second, "Anderson?" She grinned, "I thought he was there when they found me. He got on the radio near the end."

"Was he the one who told you how to blow up half your face?" Andrea teased.

"Came up with that one on my own," Kate said, that corner of her mouth turning up again. It was just as endearing as she remembered. "I improvised a bomb and then I got in the way."

"Stupid," Andrea chided, "you're supposed to be not in the way when things explode."

Kate slapped her forehead lightly, "goddamn. I forgot."

Andrea grabbed Kate's hand in both of hers, "you big jock." She smiled affectionately. Beneath her hand she could feel Kate's callouses. She didn't remember these callouses. Kate gripped her hand. "You came," she said.

"Of course I came." As soon as she said it Andrea knew it was true. She'd travel all the way across the galaxy of Kate called. "So," Andrea said, "are we starting with my stuff or your stuff? I want to know everything."

When Anderson re-entered Andrea was seated on the side of the bed, one leg tucked under her. "I shit you not. He invited me to some weird family reunion in the country on a first date."

Kate shook her head, "he thought was a good idea? had he met you?" She paused, "you need to consider that men are bad at things."

"Sometimes," Andrea sighed, "but it was fun. It was a good date. He let me take his car off-roading. It could have been worse. "

"You always were a daredevil," Kate said, "remember when we wrecked your brothers four wheeler on that hill."

"Oh yeah," Andrea said with a grin, "he still hasn't let that go. I hear about it every damn Christmas."

"Poor Jake."

"Poor me," Andrea pouted, then glanced up. Anderson stepped in looking distinctly awkward, "hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Kate straightened in bed suddenly. Andrea wondered if she should tell Kate to ask for more pain meds. She was obviously uncomfortable. "Captain," she said. She was smiling but there was something ill at ease in her eyes.

"It's ok Lieutenant. You've earned a break," Anderson said. "Glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, sir."

"Then take a load off for a few days," he glanced at Andrea for a moment, then back at Kate, "but there are some things we should discuss."

Andrea took the hint, "Kate, I'm going to go get some dinner." She grinned, "want me to smuggle anything back up. Milkshake? Whiskey?"

"I'll be just fine."

"Suit yourself," Andrea said, walking out of the room.

She paused at the door listening for just a moment.

"Sir, have you heard from the families yet? I feel like I should say something, talk to them?"

"Shepard, you've got a long road ahead of you. Focus on getting on your feet and… well… there are some decisions we need to make."

Andrea flinched, this sounded serious. For a moment she wanted to turn around and find some way to protect Kate. She was obviously nursing some wound Andrea couldn't quite get at yet, but she had always been good at getting Kate to spill her feelings. It was just a matter of time.

No, it wasn't her job anymore. She didn't have any claim on Kate and she couldn't control what she did with her life. She had walked out of the relationship and she had done it willingly. Kate needed her as a friend. Not as a girlfriend.

She walked out the door. Let the military people talk about military things.

When she returned an hour or so later Kate was alone again. She was still awake, and looking down at a piece of paper. She was reading and re-reading a sheet of paper, but when she noticed Andrea she crumpled it in one hand, smiling.

"Good news,"she said, smiling, "they're letting me go. Other people need the bed."

"But you're still-"

"I'm fine," Kate said. There was a note of finality in it. "I'm taking a month or two off. I'll get some rest. Probably head back to Arcturus in a couple days."

Andrea realized she had changed from the hospital gown into sweatpants and a white tank top. "Alliance is paying for a hotel room at some place in the part of town not too damaged." Kate said, "I can talk to Anderson about getting you a room or," she hesitated, "you could just stay with me."

"Oh," Andrea said with a smile, "sleepover. Just like old times."

Kate chuckled, "now with more pain killers."

The sun was low on the horizon as Andrea sat next to Kate in the back of the van. Before releasing them a nurse had removed the bandages from Kate's face. The wound was a clean red mark that ran from forehead and skittered down to her cheekbone. Her arm was still in a sling and was bandaged from wrist to shoulder.

Kate was watching the scenery go by. She was troubled, Andrea noted. She had been since the Captain had walked into that hospital room. Andrea pursed her lips for a moment and tried to brighten the moon, "we should watch old movies tonight. Like we used to."

Kate hummed non-commitally.

"I could show you some of the stuff in my senior show. I have some holos."

"Sure."

"I could serenade you with my death metal band's latest hits."

"What?" Kate glanced at her and let out a breath at Andrea's shit eating grin. "Sorry I'm just-uh-"

She looked out the window and leaned up to the driver, "pull over."

The car stopped and Kate was opening the door almost before they were stationary. She moved slowly, in obvious pain, but Andrea's heart clench at the way Kate seemed used to moving while in pain. She had spent the past four years in an art studio, exchanging ideas and her biggest challenges had been tight deadlines while maintaining a job or two to pay her bills. It had been hard. She had worked her way out of Effingham Illinois through sweat. But Kate had been through some things she didn't know if she would ever understand.

Andrea hopped out after her. Kate was crouched by the side of the road. She picked up something and stood. Andrea walked over and glanced over her shoulder. "Dogtags?" She asked, looking at the silver tabs. "Holman, Daniel."

She remembered the woman on the plane and winced. It couldn't be the same guy right?

"What are the chances he just dropped those?" She asked quietly.

Kate didn't answer. She dropped the dogtags in the pocket of her sweatpants and walked back to the car. "We should get back to the hotel." There was a dead note in her voice Andrea had only heard when she had been the new girl in school, just a few months removed from Mindoir.

They were quiet the rest of the short ride until they walked into their hotel room. "Swanky," Andrea commented.

Kate half smiled and sat down on the bed. "What did you want to watch."

Andrea plopped back into the sofa. "Ugh so comfy," She said with a grin. She pulled her knees up on the sofa and surveyed a list of movies on the television. "Blasto the Jellyfish 2?" She suggested, "I saw the first one. It was good."

Kate shrugged, "sure."

Andrea took a long look at her, "how about first you tell me what's going on."

"I guess," Kate said after a moment, "I've been a bit zoned."

"A bit," Andrea agreed. "Want to talk. I came half way across the galaxy to see you, not to guilt you or anything but…"

Kate chuckled, then grew serious again, "Anderson and I had a long talk."

"I noticed."

"They're giving me an award. It's a star of Terra. It's kind of a big deal."

Andrea raised her eyebrows, "that's good." Kate frowned slightly, "bad?" She said again. Kate shook her head. "I give up," Andrea said, "tell me how we feel."

"We feel good. But…" Kate hung her head, "It's a lot. I had to make a call out there. A hard one."

Andrea rose and walked to the bed. She sat down on the bed beside Kate, "want to talk about it?" She sought out Kate's hand with her own.

For a long moment Kate stared at their intertwined shook her head, "I want," she let out a breathy laugh, "I want to go back to Effingham to the bowling alley and be sixteen again."

"Really?" Andrea made a face, "Their pizza tasted like ass."

"Yeah, but remember that time we smuggled in a bottle of whiskey and you ended up dancing on that table."

Andrea burst out laughing, "oh god yes," she made a face, "oh god no. I can't believe you remember that. Didn't you steal some of the bowling pins?"

"Yes! And then we didn't want to get caught so we wanted to sink them in the river."

"Except they floated." Andrea groaned. "We were crazy. It's no wonder my mom didn't want us hanging out."

Kate straightened indignantly. "You were the bad influence. I never got in trouble on Mindoir." She paused, "I mean, except the time I hacked the school system to show naked baby pictures of the school bully as the desktop background."

Andrea chuckled, "completely provoked I assume."

"Entirely."

They were face to face now and so close she could see the flecks of god in Shepard's eyes or count her freckles. They were both quiet for a breath. Kate made the first move, "the good old days," she said quietly, moving a bit closer. She brushed a hand through Andrea's hair.

Andrea pushed aside the sickening feeling that this was a bad idea. "The best," she said. Her lips touched Kate's. It was, she reflected, just the same as she remembered. The only difference she could tell was that they had both improved at the whole kissing thing over the time spent apart.

They parted. For a moment they were eye to eye, breathless. Then Kate moved towards her again a hand gliding to her waist. Andrea held back, "I don't know if this is a good idea," she breathed. For a moment she pictured Maria… but it wasn't like they were actually a thing yet. Still, hooking up with an ex didn't bode well.

"Andrea," Kate breathed, "I just need," she swallowed, "I need…" she trailed off, brushing a thumb across Andrea's cheekbone."I don't want to be alone right now." Her voice was almost a whisper.

Andrea grabbed the hand, planted a kiss on Kate's knuckles. She noted the webbing of scars on them now. "Yeah, you're shit at being alone," she whispered back.

Later, much later Andrea stretched. She kissed Kate's cheek her fingers playing over the bruises along her side and thigh. She touched the bandages along Kate's shoulder. "Is that where they shot you?"

Kate glanced at her out of the corner of an eye, "yup. I was stupid. Let my shields go down. Didn't have anyone to cover me."

Andrea made a face. She hated the thought of people hurting Kate. She had always thought of her as tougher than nails, but now she seemed fragile. Breakable. The thought of someone, anyone aiming a gun at her made her feel nauseous.

Kate caught the expression and rolled onto her uninjured shoulder so they were face to face, "Hey," she said, "hey, I'm fine. See?"

"Yeah," Andrea said, "but you're going to go out and do something like this again. I just- I never thought of any of it as real. All that space war stuff has always felt so far away. But you could- you could die."

Kate smiled, "don't worry, I have no intention of dying anytime soon." She hesitated, "but things are about to change."

"Change how?"

"This afternoon Anderson told me I got invited to the villa."

Andrea frowned, "what's that?"

"The N program. Special forces. It's a pretty big honor."

Andrea studied Kate's face, "you're telling me good news like it's bad news again."

"You don't know why they invited me."

Andrea swatted her gently, "stop stringing me along and explain it then."

Kate hesitated, closing her eyes, "I made a call out there. It was the right call," there was something fierce in her voice, "I had to hold that plaza. But I left people to die. I sacrificed people who I couldn't help." She hesitated, "they were killing everyone. Civilians. Kids. I had to stay and hold because I knew it would save more people. The guys I was here on leave with died holding a barricade .Lot of civilians too. It was math, just shitty math."

Andrea sighed, "so all this good stuff is happening to you, but…"

"But they're just dead."

"Yeah."

"So, what happens next?" Andrea asked, "and, if you don't mind me asking, what does this mean?" She gestured between them. Kate lifted her head, kissing her lightly.

"What do you want?" She asked quietly.

Andrea tapped her chin, "You're going to the villa?" She asked. Kate hesitated, then nodded. "Good," she said, "you earned it. You should go."

For a moment she remembered the woman on the plane. The woman who had found out that her husband would never some home. The little boy who was going to grow up and Never know who his dad was. All that kid would know was that his dad was a hero who died on a colony somewhere out in the stars.

She lay back and looked up at the cieling, "I have a show tomorrow night," she said, "and I have to leave in the morning." The words felt like nails in a coffin.

"And after?" Kate asked.

Andrea took a breath, banished her tears. "I want to travel. A friend and I have plans to go to New York. Maybe after I'll go the citadel, or Thessia, or…who knows."

Kate stared at her, "you're saying goodbye."

Andrea grimaced, "I'm saying this isn't going to work for me."

"It doesn't have to end like this," Kate said, a frantic note in her voice.

Andrea shook her head, "you're my best friend. You always will be," she said slowly, "but I can't live my life waiting for a phone call telling me you ended up dead somewhere. "You're risking your life and you're reckless and I can't." She shut her eyes banishing the tears, "I can't. I'll leave now if you want."

She started to get up but Kate grabbed her wrist. "You promised." She said, "you said you'd always be here."

Andrea shook her head, "not like this. Not some domestic wife waiting for you to come home. Is that what you thought? Is that what you want?"

Kate looked at her, " I want you. It's always you in my head. No matter who else."

Andrea shook her head slowly, "I don't think it matters what either of us want. I can't spend my life waiting for you. It's not fair to me."

There was a scowl on Kate's face as she let go of Andrea's wrist. She swallowed hard and shook her head, "Sorry to have bothered you then." She said coldly, "I'll change my emergency info."

Andrea looked at her sadly and grabbed her clothes retreating to the bathroom to change. She splashed cold water on her face and took a couple deep breaths. Pulling up her omni-tool she typed out a few quick messages and within a few minutes a cab was pulling up. It was time to go home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Unknown, classified location**

**2177**

_Andrea? I hope this is still the right number. It's the only one I have so…_

Kate took a long breath, the camera waving a hair too close to her face and blurring across her freckles. There were too thick lines of black beneath her eyes and she was dressed in armor. The background looks like the inside of a tent.

_I only have a few minutes were in…well… we're about to head out and go do something. I just… _

For a moment she looked absolutely uncertain then she smiled.

_I got a transmission from your mom. Your own exhibit? Already? Holy shit. I wish I could see it, but I'm not getting leave anytime soon. How does it look so far? _

_Hey, so I thought a lot about what you said. You were right, obviously. It's just not…I mean we met at the wrong time and there's so much out there for both of us to do and…well, to be honest I met someone else. She's a gu- um- she takes care of the guns. _

Stopping and taking a breath, Kate shook her head, _not like in a dirty way. Stop laughing. Besides, _Kate grinned mischievously, _we both know nothing can beat these guns. _She made a muscle at the camera, pouting her lips comically. _Anyways, I miss you and I just wanted to see if we could talk sometime, I mean, you've always been my best friend and, _she ran a hand through her hair, _now I'm about to repeat myself. Anyways, I haven't jumped in front of anymore bombs lately so you don't need to worry. In fact, I made N-2 last week. I know you probably don't get what that means, but it means I'm kind of big deal so…_

A man in armor yanked open the door of the tent.

_Shepard, we're beating feet. Let's move._

Shepard glanced back, _On my way. _

She looked back at the camera, _Alright, I've got to go. Stay safe out there. Hope I hear back soon. I lo- I'll see you. _

The image froze and faded.

**New York City**

**2177**

_Kate! Katekatkatekate!_

The background from the people and music was obviously a bar.

Andrea took a long swallow from a bottle of beer.

_This is my OFFICIAL gallery exhibit opening after party for the after party and oh my god, I am so drunk. Like drunk beyond all reason and it is, _Andrea checked her watch, _three in the morning and now …NOW, I hear from you. I missed you and I have so much to tell you._

Another swallow of beer. Somewhere in the distance the music changed, _oh god I love this song. _Andrea danced a few clumsy drunken steps.

_Oh crap, I forgot. This, _Andrea draped an arm around a woman, _This is Suki, who is buying all of my drinks out of the goodness of her very tender heart. _The woman was short with hair in a tight fade. She smiled and winked at the camera. _Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on her._

Andrea grinned, _so I'm with people and I'm drunk but I'm happy and I'm sending you all two hundred pictures I took from the gallery this morning because I want you to see all of this. It's crazy and I wish you were here._

_Ok, this is important, I have to go sing karaoke, but if you get yourself shot, make no mistake, I will kill you. No jumping in front of any bombs anymore either. Come see me! Or I'll see you! MWAH! Love you!_


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm making a couple of changes to the cannon time line:_

_First, the raid on Mindoir took place in 2170 in cannon, I'm placing it late in 2169. Shepard then arrives late in her sophmoore year of highschool. Mindoir and Shepard's status as a survivor of it is going to feature pretty heavily in this story, with later events occuring on the actual planet._

_Second, this story is mapped out almost from beginning to end (a bit of a rarity for me). I'll be moving into the events of the first game fairly soon so I want to say that I've made one more significant change to the timeline. Talitha, the Mindoir survivor from ME1's 'I remember me" mission will not appear until the events of ME2 for reasons that will become apparent with time._

_I appreciate every single reader this story gets. It's honestly a blast to write, and I have quite a lot planned for it, but my life is a bit busy at the moment, so pelase bear with me._

* * *

**Effingham, Illinois**

**May, 2170**

Andrea stood on the side of the drop off, toes just crossing the edge.

She tipped her head back drinking deeply of the cheap bodega beer and then tossed the empty bottle into the quarry.

Kate was a few feet away, leaning against a boulder looking up at the stars. Neither of them were drunk, but the beer softened the night. SHe was thankful her art skills had translated into her making fairly believable fake ID's for herself. It made Andrea think less about what might be going on at home in her absence. She had sent her mom a quick message saying she wouldn't be home until later, she doubted there would be any repercussions Her mom would be too distracted.

She walked to Kate, "Whatcha looking at?" She asked. She leaned back beside her and looked up at the stars.

"The stars," the redhead said, "they're different here." She sighed, "I mean of course their different, it just… I forget sometimes."

Andrea leaned next to her, "I've only ever seen these stars."

"So the pictures on the inside of your locker?" Kate asked. Andrea blushed, she had plastered her locker with photos from across earth and then added more from the rest of the galaxy. A sunrise on Palavan. The temple of Athame on Thessia. The circular ring of the presidium on the citadel with it's artificial gravity.

"Extranet pictures and hope," Andrea admitted, "I don't want to spend my life stuck here." She looked up at the night sky, "what are the colonies like?" She felt her cheeks growing hot. That might be an awkward topic, considering the school gossip. Emily Marrietti, whose mother was the school's secretary, had spread the rumor that her family had been killed on some colony out on the Verge a few months ago and she had been in some psychiatric hospital since.

Kate took a long breath, "better than here, but a lot smaller," she said finally, "but I guess everyone knows." Andrea glanced over, trying to see if the redhead was upset, but she just looked thoughtful. "It's all true, what they're saying," Kate said.

"You don't have to talk about it."

Kate looked at her for a long time, then said, "there weren't any winters," it took Andrea moment to realize she was talking about Mindoir, "There are, like, five Noveau Californias on the planet, and we grow- I mean grew- crops year round." She swallowed, "we had two dogs and a couple barn cats. Our house was on a hill and we used to go swimming in the valley, in the lake." Then she shifted, "I spent three months in the ward after…" She trailed off.

Andrea shook her head, "I told you, I don't care. Emily is an idiot. Before you came along she used to pull all the shit with me. She's a bitch."

"You?" Kate looked surprised.

Andrea shrugged, "I moved here Freshman year. It wasn't an easy transition." She wrinkled her nose, "not quite as bad as yours, but I still don't have many friends. Everyone here has known each other sense pre-school. It's hard to fit in."

"Where were you from?"

"Chicago," Andrea said, "I liked the city better than here, but my mom…" She hesitated. "There was a fight between my parents and we had to leave." There. Close enough to the truth. She decided not to mention that her father was a drunk with a temper or that she had seen his car pull in the driveway late last night and pull out early in the morning. He'd been showing up once a week for the past few months, probably all teary eyed and apologetic. Her older brother at college had yet to return her increasingly frantic texts.

She bit her lip and glanced at Kate, wondering if she'd call her on her bullshit. Kate was still looking up at the stars. "Anyways," Andrea pressed on, Emily used to spread all kinds of bullshit rumors about me. Knock my books out of my hands, or trip me in the hallway. Your typical school bitch crap."

"She thinks I'm flirting with her boyfriend because we got partnered in that bio class," Kate grumbled.

"Yeah," Andrea said, "she's a tad… jealous."

"She's crazy," Kate said, "besides, hes not my type, he just doesn't actively suck." Andrea had been at nearby table watching the two of them work on dissecting their frog. They had seemed to be having a good time, but Taylor was definitely known for being infinitely more sane than Emily.

"What is your type?" Andrea asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Not boys," Kate said. She had spent most of the conversation still watching the stars and sipping her beer, now she glanced at Andrea out of the corner of her eyes, gauging her reaction. When Andrea didn't she took another sip of beer, "you?"

"I like girls, I think," Andrea shrugged, "maybe boys too?" She smiled, "I just want to experience everything I can. It's a big galaxy."

"Mmm," Kate said. She took a last drink and walked to the edge of a drop off. There was the sound of shattering glass as she tossed the bottle into the ravine. She walked back slowly. "I just want to make it through the next two years," Kate said, "and then I want to leave."

"Where will you go?"

Kate shrugged, "who knows."

"Back to Mindoir?"

"No," Kate said immediately, then she hesitated, "maybe to visit?" she said finally, tentatively, "I don't know." She tilted her head towards the music player Andrea had set up when they arrived, "I love this song."

Andrea sensed her desperation to change the subject and complied, "yeah me too. My brother took me to one of thier concerts before we left the city."

That caught Kate's interest, "what was it like? We didn't get many good bands passing through."

Andrea described the crowds, the bands, the excitement, "we should go to a show sometime. I get my drivers license in a few months. I can talk my mom into borrowing the car."

Kate nodded, "yeah, I'd like that." She looked up at the moon, "We should get back soon."

"Yeah," Andrea said reluctantly. She was enjoying this easy conversation. Going home sounded like walking back into a lot of complications. Being here, with Kate, was easier. "So.. She said as they turned to go back, I head you were in the smart math classes?"

"Yeah," Kate said, "honors. I like computers and stuff."

Andrea smiled, "then maybe you can help me, because I'm failing dumb math."

"You shouldn't call it that," Kate said.

"Ok," Andrea replied, "I'm still failing a remedial course. I am literally begging for help." A low C wasn't exactly failing quite yet, but it wasn't gaining her points at home, and she maybe might kind of want an excuse to spend time with Kate.

"I can do that," Kate said, "tomorrow at your place maybe?"

Andrea thought about the cold war between her and her mother, and the sporadic reappearances of her father, she made a sound of discomfort, "maybe yours instead?"

Now it was Kate's turn to look uncomfortable, "there's a lot of people at my house. Little kids. It's loud and kind of crowded." She had the same note of discomfort in her voice.

"My mom works at a diner," Andrea said slowly, "I'll bet we could talk her into feeding us if we went there." Mary Calhoun's work face was legendary, hopefully it would diffuse some of the mother/daughter tension. There was no chance her father would make an unexpected appearance there anyways.

Kate smiled, "I like that idea." She paused outside a house. It was fenced in, with a kiddie pool out front that looked like it had seen better days. Toys littered the lawn and a dirty looking car was parked in the driveway. The lights in the living room were on and Andrea could hear voices, though she couldn't tell if they were raised in excitement or anger or who they belonged to.

"This is me," Kate said softly. She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself for something. Then she stared Andrea down again,"I saw you talking to Emily at the end of the day. You don't need to stick up for me. I can take care of myself." She lifted her chin proudly.

Andrea tilted her head and crossed her arms, "look, I just mentioned that I had seen her car parked in her other boyfriend's house over the weekend. I let her know that Karma's a bitch and I can be too." She grinned at the memory, "I should be thanking you. I was saving that information for a rainy day but the look on her face," she made a chef's kiss, "absolutely worth it."

Kate laughed, "you know," she said, "it's been ninety-seven days since I was on Mindoir and every single one of them has been terrible. I've been alone and I've…" she trailed off, "it's been awful," she finally repeated, "but this night hasn't sucked. So, thanks."

Andrea reached out in the darkness and found Kate's hand. "You don't have to be alone anymore," she said. She spoke quickly, before she had a chance to second guess what she was saying.

Kate squeezed her hand before letting go and flipping the latch on the gate, "neither are you. See you tomorrow."

No longer hesitant the freckled girl walked up the driveway to the door. Andrea watched her go, before she strode off into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Two Years Later: Where is the hero of Elysium Now**

**Nissa T'Manal Interviews LtCdr Shepard tonight on Illium News Network**

_When Liutenant Commander Katherine Shepard walks into a room she commands the area. It's not hard to see why. Physically she's a stunning 6'2" with bright red hair and sparkling green eyes. She carries herself with effortless authority. It's easy to see why, between her bearing, appearance and track record, Katherine Shepard is the latest darling of the alliance. _

_Two years ago, the young officer nearly sacrificed her life to save a colony under attack. While the move was regarded as heroic, I was able to ask the questions many Asari have these days as Mindoir and other human colonies establish xenophobic environments while still wishing to maintain trade lines._

T'Manal: Good morning, it's good to see you here in Vancouver.

KS: It's good to be here, sorry. I'm not used to interviews like this. Or, at all…

T: Don't worry, I'm just here to tell the public what you've been up to since you saved Elysium.

KS: I didn't do that alone. A lot of good men and women fought alongside me. A lot of them didn't survive. On the anniversary we should be taking time to acknowledge their sacrifice.

T: I agree. It must be overwhelming to have so much attention on a day when so many people died.

KS: Alliance HQ keeps saying I'll adjust to the media but…

T: I'm sure their right. So, in the past two years, where have you been?

KS: I've been completing N training. I just passed my N-4 exams.

T: For our viewers, N training is the most rigourous special forces program offered by the alliance. Most participants don't make it through, and those that do represent the smartest and toughest members of the military.

T: Can you tell our viewers what exactly you were doing on Elysium? Where were you, when you knew the colony was under attack.

KS: It was shore leave. We had a few days in port while the ship restocked, and since we were non-essential we were released to go have a few days off. We had just finished running a few pretty intense missions so I was with my squad celebrating our success at a bar near the space port.

T: I see, and what happened next.

KS: I bought a round for the team. We made a toast and then we heard shouting. When we looked up there were people running through the streets and we could hear guns firing down the street. When I tried to hop on comms with the ship, all of our frequencies had been jammed. The pirates were killing people by the time we arrived on scene and none of us were armed.

T: You had no weapons?

KS: Not a one. I was the most senior person there so I sent a two man squad to a nearby guard post to start getting arms funnled our way. We started rallying the civilians in the area to build barricades and defend themselves. We had a couple biotics too, that were keeping them held off.

T: You're from a colony world yourself, aren't you?

KS: Mindoir. Before it was attacked. I'd rather not talk about it.

T: I can imagine. It must have left quite the mental scar, you were what? Sixteen?

T: Fifteen, but as I was saying. Once we had a load out I had the team hold the batarians while I tried to establish communications. We found other soldiers in the area, plus a few members of the colony militia and created a plan to keep the pirates busy until more forces arrived. We got a line of communication and I hacked into the Batarian comm traffic.

T: Batarians? The alliance official story states the group of pirates were diverse.

KS: They were, we saw humans. But there were a lot of batarians there.

T: It was batarians who attacked your colony correct? Some of your friends and neighbors must have been carried off as slaves. Or worse.

KS: As I said, I'd prefer to stick to the events on Elysium. We nearly managed it until they busted through the plaza, that's where I held them off.

T: The batarians?

KS: The pirates.

T: Isn't true Mindoir has one of the largest civilian militias of all alliance colonies? According to my sources 84% of able bodied, adult Mindorians are members of the militia.

KS: Trust me, Mindoir has historical reasons for wanting a strong defense. No one wants to relive what happened in 2169.

T: The fact that Mindoir has historically had a hostile attitude towards any non-human species settling there doesn't bother you?

KS: I haven't back to Mindoir since I was a teenager, but once again, I'd say they have their reasons for being suspicious. Give the colonists time and you can earn their trust.

T: So you support xenophobic policies?

KS: I… This interivew was supposed to be about Elysium.

T: But Mindoir has established trade routes across multiple systems, including one with Illium, yet the environment of the colony discourages non-human residents.

KS: I can't comment on any of that.

T: Are you aware of the higher tax rates imposed on non-humans moving to the colonies?

KS: Once again, I can't comment.

T: Can't or don't want to.

KS: Can we go back to Elysium?

T: Hmph. Is it true you left the rest of your squad to die on the barricades while you defended the plaza?

KS: …

T: Miss Shepard?

KS: Daniel Holman, Paxton Overby, Michella Huy, Timothy Finch, Alyssa Martin.

J: Excuse me?

KS: Those are my squad members who didn't make it through that battle. I did everything I could, but we were to a man committed to saving the colonists. I wrote their family notes telling them how heroically their loved ones died. I attended the funerals. I gave their grieving families the alliance flags. Those men and women don't deserve to-

T: Do you think those sacrifices were necessary?

KS: What are you getting at?

T: It must have felt like you were reliving the Mindoir Raid on Elysium? What was that like?

KS: I don't think-

T: You, a child whose life was destroyed by batarian pirates, led an attack in which your entire squad died and you became hero. What would you say to those who might accuse you of having made an unnecessary sacrifice?

KS: I'd say they weren't there.

T: But-

KS: We're done here.

T: Miss Shep-

KS: It's Lieutenant Commander. And I said we're done.


	6. Chapter 6

**Effingham, Illinois**

**2170**

Andrea woke with a start and glanced at the clock. It read 1:35 AM in garrish red letters. She sighed and leaned back as the noise from the lower level continued to rise. If it kept up she'd be able to make out the words soon and figure out what they were arguing about. There was the sound of something, more likely someone, falling and she winced.

The situation had escalated a few days ago. She had arrived home from that first night with Kate two weeks ago. Her father had been seated in the big armchair in the living room while her mother worked in the kitchen. He had smiled at her and all she could remember is the way her arm had cracked when he threw her across the room two years ago.

"Andrea," he held out his arms as if she was going to hug him. As if he deserved her love.

She had stepped back towards the door. "Hi dad."

He lowered his arms, having at least enough self awareness to look embarrassed.

Her mother had come back in and they had told her the news together. He would be there on the weekends now. Every weekend. He wanted to be better. To make things right. Andrea had listened, and nodded, and walked up to her room and screamed into a pillow. It had been find for two months. And now they were fighting again. A damn good one to, jusdging by the volume.

She missed Jake. In the old days they would have wound up in the same room and told each other stories or played one of Jake's video games. Now she was alone to deal with whatever weird aftermath there would be tomorrow morning.

Abandoning any hope of sleep she picked up her omnitool from the bedside table and scrolled through her activity feeds. It was only a few minutes before the green light blinked and a message popped up:

_KS: Can't sleep?_

Andrea felt that strange warm feeling uncurling in her stomach. She tapped out a response a smile touching her cheeks.

_AC: Chronic insomnia_

_KS: Tragic_

_AC: Well, insomnia and something I ate? I dreamed a giant mouse was trying to teach me to fly a spaceship to rescue Blasto the jellyfish_

It was a lie. But not a mean one. She didn't owe anyone a rundown of her families baggage. Jake still hadn't gotten back to her except to say he was busy with school and work and he'd try to find time to check up on things.

_KS: Did you rescue Blasto?_

_AC: You know, it was very unclear. What about you? _

_KS: I've never met Blasto._

_AC: …._

_AC: you think you're cute._

_KS: I know I'm cute._

Andrea's smile widened. From downstairs she could hear her father screaming curses. There was another crash. Someone had thrown something. She sat up and curled into the corner of her bed, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. She leaned her head into the wall and sighed, tapping out a response to Kate.

_AC: I'm not feeding your ego. _

_KS: So you admit I'm cute?_

_AC: No comment._

_KS: Not a no._

_AC: So is 2am normal for you colonists or…?_

_KS: Space cowboys don't need sleep. _

_KS: JK Marissa's baby woke me up. That thing cries way too much. Is there such thing as an unhealthy amount for a baby to cry?_

_AC: Beats me. _

Marissa was Kate's foster mom. Kate had only mentioned her, or any of the other people she lived with, a couple of times. They avoided each other's houses by unspoken agreement. Kate hadn't talked much about Mindoir or her real family. Andrea hadn't pressed either. It wasn't like she had been overly eager to offer up that much information about her own problems.

Leah Calhoun hadn't asked a lot of questions about her daughters new friend yet. Andrea had the feeling she was far too distracted and it was better not to mention anything that might create more friction. There were enough problems at home.

_KS: You live in the white house right, with the tree in the back on north fourth?_

_AC: Planning to pay a midnight visit?_

_KS: Maybe. Out for a midnight stroll._

She heard the door slam and a car start, and the soft sound of her mother crying. She started to get up. She should go check on things. Sweep up whatever she had heard break. Take care of her mother. She reached for the door and something tapped at her window. Andrea jumped. There was another tap.

She walked over and glanced through. A freckled face looked up at her from the ground and they both broke into matching smiles. "Can you climb that tree," Kate called softly. She glanced at what Andrea knew was the window that opened into the kitchen, then looked back up, suddenly bashful, "I can go if you'd rather get back to bed or… something."

Andrea shook her head and held a finger to her lips and opened the screen. She grabbed a backpack and coat from where she had thrown it earleier and A few minutes later she landed on the grass. Only then did she glance behind her into the window and wince. Someone had thrown a plate into the clock that had hung on the wall and both lay shattered on the kitchen floor. There was a collection of beer bottles on the table.

Kate shifted, "You uh," she shifted uncomfortably, "you ok?" She had obviously seen the mess. She was embarrassed and it only emphasized how tall and gangly she was. Andrea stood a good six inches shorter and if genetics were any indication she wasn't likely to grow more than another inch or two.

Andrea felt suddenly mentally exhausted. She didn't know how to explain the complicated dynamics of her life. As much as she wanted to be the kind of daughter who walked back in there, picked up the mess, and put her mother to bed, all she really wanted was to escape for a while. She looked up at Kate, "can we go somewhere else?"

Kate nodded, a smile tugging at one side of her mouth.

"Who was the big guy?" She asked, "He just left your house. I thought maybe I had the wrong one."

Andrea pursed her lips, "that was my dad. I guess he's back." She attempted to shrug it off.

Kate was looking at her, eyes narrowed in thought as they headed out the gate in the backyard, "if you ever need me," she said, "I'm not that far."

Andrea made a dismissive gesture, "I'm fine." She said, "I'm handling it."

"Uh-huh," said Kate, with a tone that said this was over for the moment, but far from permanently

Andrea smiled brightly, "so," she said, "where too?"

Kate turned to her and grinned, white teeth glinting in the starlight, "you got a bike?" Andrea nodded.

"Follow me."

Effingham was a strange midwest town. Half in the suburbs, half in the sticks it clung to the edge of larger cities. It was barely a mile before the town disintegrated into farmland. Still, Andrea hadn't left the larger township often over the years since she had moved here and she was surprised when Kate led them off the paved road down one of the dirt side roads. The bounced along for another few minutes. Finallym Kate dropped her bike beside a wire gate. Andrea followed suite and glanced at her omnitool. It was just after two.

"What are we doing out here?" she asked nervously.

Kate knelt next to the electronic gate latch. Something glowed in her hands. "Finished up a hacking program I started with my brother," she said. "We promised mom we wouldn't use it but," the lock clicked and she pushed the gate open, "I don't think she'd mind."

Andrea walked through and looked around. There was nothing but an open field. A few trees. She looked back at Kate who was shutting the gate. "What is this place?"

Kate tossed something at her and Andrea fumbled at it, almost dropping the bag. "Is this… drugs?" She looked at the tiny white cubes critically.

Laughing Kate shook her head, "sugar. Put it in your pocket."

Andrea gave her a doubtful look but tucked the bag in her pocket. Kate watched, then stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled. She hadn't seen the three figures off in the distance but one by one they looked up and moved closer. Andrea squinted, "are those cows?"

Kate walked over and nudged her, "city slicker," she teased, "those are horses."

Andrea stepped back as they approached, intimidated by their size. They were huge. She only came up to the shoulder of the shortest one and they circled the two girls making tiny snorting noises.

"Kate?" she said uncertainly

Kate grabbed her hand, "don't be scared. I've got you."

That was enough to bolster Andrea's courage. One of the horses stretched out it's neck, nuzzling Kate's pockets. She giggled, Andrea had never heard that noise before. She decided to see if she could make her do it again. Letting go of her hand Kate reached out a hand and touched the horses cheek. Her other hand reached in her pocket, "ok, big guy, I know what you want." She held out a hand flat palmed and the horse bent. There was a wet sound of mastication and the sugar cube was gone. The other horses weee jostling for space around them, trying to get on of the cubes. Andrea felt something tug at her own pocket and she yelped.

"Here," Kate said, "hold it with your hand flat like this."

Andrea held out a hand, then laughed as one of the smaller horses devoured the cube of sugar. "I didn't realize they were so big." She reached into her pocket for another. Kate was scratching at the neck of one of the horses, whispering in it's ear. "You've been here before," she accused.

Kate smiled, "yeah," she said, "kinda reminds me of home. I'm supposed to start working here once school is finally out. My therapist thinks it would be good for me."

The sugar cubes gone most of the horses trotted away except the one Kate was patting. Andrea watched, then reached in her jacket pocket pulling out a sketchpad. There was something wild about Kate now, something she had never seen in anyone before. She wanted to capture it forever. All too soon, however, the last of the horses trotted away. Andrea tucked the half finished sketch in her pocket, hoping there would be enough there to make it complete later. Andrea and Kate meandered towards the far side of the pasture.

Andrea dug in her backpack and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She offered on to Kate.

"Those things will kill you, you know?" Kate said. She grabbed it out of Andrea's hands and extracted one of the cigarettes. "How do you get this stuff anyways?" She asked out of the corner of one mouth as she lit it.

"I have grabby little hands," Andrea said, "and a fake ID."

Kate shook her head and took a thoughtful drag on the ciggarette. "You thought at all about that xeno-diversity class project," Kate asked after a while. "I keep trying to write it, but I just keep getting angry. I think Miss Smith hates me."

"Well," Andrea said, "she doesn't love you. You tend to… interrupt. And, you know the point of xeno-diversity class isn't to point out all the species in the galaxy by their likelihood to attack colonies."

"It just pisses me off," Kate said, "the glaxy is a dangerous place and all she wants to do is hold hands and sing Kum-bye-yah. Just this week two colonies were attacked on the verge. The alliance got there in time for one. The other… was just another massacre."

They stopped at the fench, perching side by side. "She wasn't there, Kate." Andrea said, "She doesn't get it. None of us do. Miss Smith has never left the planet and she's probably never going to."

Kate grunted, "She wants me to write on Kar'shan." Andrea winced. Miss Smith was big on the idea that everyone could get along and bridge cultural gaps. It wasn't terrible in theory, but six months ago the residents of the batarian homeworld, Kar'shan had torn Kate's life apart. "I get so angry," Kate said, her fingers gripping at the fence post until her knuckles were white. "The only thing those four eyed bastards are good for is target practice."

Andrea held up a hand, "maybe don't lead with that," she said.

Kate snickered, "can you imagine her face?"

"Hmm," Andrea said, "maybe you're just looking at it the wrong way."

"How's that," Kate asked sharply, "Because it seems pr-"

Andrea put a hand on Kate's arm, "chill," she said, "I'm on your side. You just have to know how to…talk about things the right way." She tilted her head, "you can say a lot of really mean things if you hide it in the right words."

"So how do you talk about a bunch of murdering bastards?" Kate asked acerbically.

"Well," Andrea said, "first of all you pick a partner like me who Miss Smith loves." She pointed to herself, "so good job, you're already on the right track."

Kate chuckled, "loves?"

"The woman wishes I was her daughter."

"Ok," Kate said, "and then what?"

"Then you hang out at the diner this week and do my math homework while I write our paper on Kar'shan." Andrea grinned impishly.

Kate laughed, "sounds like a deal." She looked up at the night sky, "You know, when they told me I had to move to earth I thought it was going to be really bad."

"Kate," Andrea said conspiratorially, "I don't know if you've noticed this town is awful."

"I dunno," Kate said, "it's not so bad." She pointed to the horizon, "the sun's about to rise." She jumped down, ground the butts of their cigarettes beaneath her heel, and offered Andrea her hand, "we should head out before someone finds us." She looked out across the field, "race you?"

"You have longer legs then I do," Andrea complained hopping down and trying to catch up, "it's not fair."

Kate shifted from one foot to the other, "you gonna bitch Calhoun or you gonna run?"

Andrea walked until she was shoulder to shoulder with Kate. "I just think we should set down some ground rules."

"Ground rules?"

"Yeah Andrea said," she glanced at the gate in the distance, paced forward another few steps, then broke into a dead sprint, "like whoever's last buys breakfast," She called over her shoulder.

"No fair," Kate called from behind her, "that's cheating!"

"You gonna bitch, Shepard," Andrea called, running faster, "or you gonna run?"


End file.
